


bonds

by shavacado



Series: Bonds Series [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Kumo OC, Kumogakure | Hidden Cloud Village, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28738683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shavacado/pseuds/shavacado
Summary: Kohana Akaashi is your basic chip off the block stubborn asshole. Abides by her own rules, doesn't take shit and doesn't do anything she doesn't have to. Keeping friends has never been her strong suit, interacting with anyone her age considered a major pain in the ass. As long as she could remember, it had only been her and her old man. She didn't need anyone else.But once the opportunity of the chunin exams rolls around and she has to leave the comfort of Kumogakure, she realizes that she may become more attached to her peers than she anticipated. And to Konohagakure shinobi nonetheless.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Uchiha Sasuke/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Bonds Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106948
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

How I ended up in Kumogakure? I don't think I'll ever remember. But if I somehow hit my head one day and it came to me, it would be welcomed with open arms. I wasn't totally opposed to taking a shot at clunking my head just to see if it would knock some sense into me—but then again, I wasn't sure how many brain cells I was willing to lose attempting that.

What I didn't need help remembering though, was the shitty hand of cards life oh so graciously dealt me.

I lived my life in Kumogakure from the moment I was an annoying baby, crying and shitting 24 hours of the day. Raised in the heart of the Rocky Mountain terrain, my glorious upbringing was monitored by my stand-in father, Kenji Akaashi.

The reason I say stand-in is because the guy really isn't my father. He says I was dropped on his doorstep from Kami himself, but I'm not sure if I'm holy enough to be considered a gift from Kami. If anything, Kami was probably sick of me and decided to pawn me off to some poor sucker. And that sucker was Kenji Akaashi.

I may call Kenji Akaashi a sucker, but really the guy is anything but that. Everything that came out of his mouth was always dripping with sarcasm, and not a thought-free of cynicism ran through his head. People say that my personality is a carbon copy of his, but that only sends a steady stream of repulsion through me.

I mean, come on. He's a great shinobi and all, but his personality is rival to the shit stains on my diapers as a baby.

But even if his personality was awful, I still somehow found myself liking the guy. After all, he had been gracious enough to take me into his home and raise me as his own. He didn't know my name, random kids picked up in a forest usually not coming with a name tag. So he decided to take it upon himself and name me. The name wasn't too bad, I'll give him that. But it's not like I was saying he should professionally name babies either.

He named me Kohana; little flower.

It was a little dainty in my opinion. I always told him that it gave off the wrong impression. I was far from a dainty flower. But he would just chuckle, shake his head and say,

"Sorry, Kohana, but babies usually don't have the mental capacity to give opinions on names. Otherwise, I would have made sure to ask."

He thought he was a real wise guy responding like that. But I didn't give him the satisfaction of laughing at his stupid jokes. I just rolled my eyes and continued with whatever I was doing.

His jokes were probably the most irritating thing about him. It wasn't that they were bad jokes. It's that they were so humoring it took everything in me to not laugh. I didn't want him to know that he was funny, because if he did he would only get a big head about it. Then his jokes wouldn't be funny anymore. The worst thing was when people were too overconfident. No one liked a wise guy.

I hadn't seen my old man in a few days, as he left for a mission two nights ago. He was supposed to return this morning to see me off before I left for Konohagakure, but I hadn't heard any swearing or loud crashes in the rest of the house, so it was safe to say he wasn't back yet.

I was to take the chunin exams with my other two teammates, but truthfully, I wasn't sure how we would fare. After all, they were a bunch of idiots. I wouldn't be surprised if you cracked their heads open and a bunch of rocks came spilling out.

I stuffed the remainder of my clothes into my bag, before zipping it up and slinging it over my shoulder. Packing had consumed the majority of my day. Not that I had a bunch of stuff to take, but I liked to plan out what clothes I was wearing. The chunin exams weren't a fashion show, but I didn't want to show up looking like I rolled out of a dumpster either. Appearances really were everything in my book.

I didn't have much, but I did have at least an ounce of dignity.

My room was bland and empty, nothing more than a bed and a dresser inside it. The walls were painted a sunflower yellow, but there were no pictures on them. There wasn't any deep phycological reason behind the blank walls—I just wasn't one for interior decorating. But my old man wanted me to put a little more life into the space, so we settled on the bright shade of yellow paint and called it a day.

He always said it was ironic how much I liked the color yellow. For someone with a rather... cynical personality, I was fond of the bright shade. In a way, it matched my outward persona. At least... that's the way he liked to put it. Endearingly so.

I ran a hand through my dark hair, pushing the scraggly bangs out of my face as I came into the living room. A light breeze drifted through the open slider door leading to a deck, fluttering the few papers from my old man's report from a mission.

Two couches were angled toward each other, the dirty, black fabric covered in crumbs and stains from old food. On the beaten-up coffee table between the two couches was a lot of old, smelly food too alongside the papers. Green stench clouds and flies buzzed around them. Some of my old man's stupid magazines sat underneath the food, mostly being used as a coaster for my drinks from the last week.

It wasn't like those stupid ass things had another purpose anyway. He spent a majority of his paycheck on them too—such a damn waste if you ask me.

I didn't like being a slob, and in fact, I hated it when people decided to be a slob. But I was the one who caused the mess, so really it was okay. I mean if I was the one doing it... no problem really. When it came to others... it totally got on my nerves. If my old man or anyone else had decided to destroy the house with all their shit, I probably would have lost my mind.

I rolled my eyes at the thought, before scanning the rest of the house. I didn't see anyone through the open, shoji door that led to the kitchen, or the other shoji door that leads to the laundry room. I eyed the clothes strewn out in front of the washing machine, before walking over and closing the door to hide the mess from my view before I had a mental break down.

My dad still wasn't back, and I was debating whether or not I should just leave a note behind and take off. I mean, the guy probably wouldn't miss me that much.

Just as I was about to get out a pen and paper for my lovey-dovey goodbye note, the front door opened.

Inside walked the devil himself, the top of his hair bleached a yellow blonde decaying into a dark brown. He wore the regulation outfit for a Jonin of Kumogakure, a white flack jacket crossed over his left shoulder and wrapped around his chest. Dirt was wiped on his black track pants, the yellow shirt underneath his flack jacket also covered in dirt.

"Need a shower?" I asked, my eyes running over the various smudges of mud and dirt that covered his clothes. He looked like he had rolled through a mud puddle on his way home, a few swipes of brown painted across his cheek and nose.

My dad snorted, scratching at the peeling mud on his cheek. "Nah. I was thinking about wearing this for the rest of the day. It gives the outfit a bit of character, don't you think? Gives people a reason to stop and stare. Conversation starter?"

"If smelling terrible adds character, then sure. By all means, make a fashion statement while you're at it." I wrinkled my nose as he walked past me toward the kitchen. Waving a hand in front of my nose, I followed after him.

He definitely needed a shower.

"So, chunin exams." He hummed, pulling a water bottle from the fridge. He leaned on the counter, uncapping it and taking a few drinks. "Excited?"

I shrugged. "Excited to be spending time with my two nimrods of teammates and deal with foreign shinobi? I'm ecstatic!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You should really be more kind to your teammates, Kohana. They're the people you'll be facing life or death situations with, and they'll be protecting you when you can't."

"I'm fully capable of protecting myself." I crossed my arms and gave him a level stare.

"I know you are," he reached over to pat me on the head. "But it doesn't hurt to have some extra protection, now does it?"

"I suppose not," I murmured looking off to the side. Of course, I didn't agree in the slightest, but if I argued with him it would get me nowhere. He would win anyway. He always did. I was the most capable person on my team, honestly.

"I think you should hurry along soon though. You'd want to make it to the Leaf on time, and with that Sensei of yours, I'm sure you'd want all the time to spare," He remarked knowingly, glancing over to the weird chicken clock that sat on the counter beside the fridge.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the thought of my idiotic Jonin Sensei.

Hatsumomo Jinsoku was my energetic, orange-haired, bouncing Jonin sensei. The lady hated her name though, always complaining about how her parents had cursed her with the mouthful of a name like Hatsumomo, so she just had everyone call her Momo. Her attitude was a little tomboyish, but it seemed to fit her. The short woman was never seen without mud on her black clothes. It made me question how often she showered and did laundry.

It was a bit concerning, really.

Momo's orange hair was always thrown up into an elaborate ponytail, multi-colored clips placed around her hair to pin back the pesky strands. She claimed it was a special gift from her clan, being blessed with short stature and messy, untamable hair. But I thought it was a small price to pay for her ridiculously cool Kekkei Genkai, Swift Release.

It was crazy how fast she could move, the nature transformation of lightning and wind granting her amazing speed. And even when she wasn't directly using her speed in the form of Swift Release, it was always integrated into her movements, making her more agile than most without additional training.

It was honestly annoying that a crazy lady such as Momo got a cool Kekkei Genkai like that. On the other hand, people like me had to actually work for their skills.

"You're probably right," I replied, glancing over to the weird-ass chicken clock again. It's cartoonish feather hands were reading an 8:30–and we were to leave Kumo by ten. If we wanted to reach Konoha on time, it would probably be best if we left early. Momo Sensei had an annoying tendency to get distracted easily.

"Do you have everything you need?" He asked, looking at me with a raised brow. He looked as though he was hiding something, a slight smirk causing the corner of his lips to tilt up slightly.

"I don't know..." I murmured suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at him. "Am I forgetting something?"

"Maybe." He replied, his lips now curved into a full-blown smirk. He wasn't even attempting to hide his mischievousness now, his free hand that wasn't holding his water bottle inching toward his thigh. He unzipped his Kunai pouch and pulled out a scroll, before tossing it over to me.

I caught it, looking at it curiously. "What is—?"

He waved his hand, cutting me off mid-sentence. "Don't ask me. It'll spoil the surprise. I have a feeling you'll like it though. Just promise me you'll wait until you get to Konoha to open it."

My face fell. "I don't like surprises."

He waggled a finger at me, grinning. "You'll like this one. Now get out of here before I kick you out the door myself. And if I find out that you opened it before you reached Konoha, I'll kick your ass."

That was all it took for me to book it. I made my way out of the apartment and down the busy street, ninja and civilians alike walking around.

Kumogakure had rocky terrain, mountains towering over us every which way. Our architecture used the close range mountains to our advantage, most of our structures built into them. It was a little odd, Sure. But it also made for sturdy buildings.

Thank Kami we didn't have an avalanche problem, though.

The fog was thick from our high elevation, it looks as though literal clouds were floating through the village. Most would find the area strange, but I found it comforting. It was at home.

Kumogakure wasn't the most populated out of the hidden villages either, coming in just behind Konohagakure. I didn't know this from my own personal experience, of course, this knowledge coming from my dad and the various data books I could get my hands on. He warned me that Konoha was extremely populated, their amount of shinobi and citizens almost double ours. This was unfortunate for me since I did not like people, nonetheless anyone that wasn't from Kumo.

A little ways ahead, I spotted a group of kids playing ninja together, pretending to make the hand signs. They weren't making them perfectly, their little fingers out of place on the seals like bird and ox. It was expected though, the kids looking like they were only around seven or eight, so they had only been in the academy for a year or two. The kids seemed to be surrounding something, and as I got closer I couldn't help but roll my eyes at who they were surrounding.

"It's important to move your finger like so. Just a little more to the left... ah, you have it now!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Katsu, look at this guy over here! He's got these hand signs down!"

"I think it's important we don't put the kids against one another Ryuu. Besides... this little guy is obviously forming his bird better."

"You're only saying that because you're the one who taught him to do that sign! You're biased!"

"So what if I'm biased? Maybe I'm biased and just a good teacher."

"Or maybe, you both are complete idiots."

I towered over the two boys I painfully called my teammates, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. The other children turned toward me, their faces contorting into one of complete horror at my presence. My right eye twitched at their staring.

"What are you looking at?!" I barked. One of the kids cried out and leaped behind their friend, while the rest of them stared in apprehension. I rolled my eyes and sighed in irritation, rubbing at my face. "We need to go."

Ryuu stood, grinning at me. "Aye aye, captain!"

Ryuu Iwasaki was the ultimate idiot of all the idiots. He spoke without thinking, acted without thinking, and did pretty much everything without thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if he had never experienced an actual thought in his entire life. His hair was a perfect example of what happened when he didn't think, the spikiest part of it dyed an ugly grey, but the roots still the same shade of black it had been in the academy.

I told him it looked like he had dunked the top of his hair in grey paint, but he only laughed and told me it was the look he was going for.

Katsu told me the next day it wasn't the look he was going for.

"Let's just get going so we don't make little Ko-chan angry," Katsu tossed a knowing look down at me from his monstrous height for a thirteen-year-old. He tousled my hair affectionately, the dark strands whipping me all over the face. I snorted, brushing them away.

Katsu wasn't as stupid as Ryuu, but he was still an idiot. Or... I suppose he wasn't at all, really. He was quite smart, really. Totally annoying. He wasn't a loud as our silver-streaked teammate, thankfully. In comparison... he really wasn't bad. His full name was Katsura, but he felt as though it sounded too 'feminine' so he opted for people calling him Katsu instead. He was generally rather quiet, opting to just observe until a much needed snarky comment was given. Despite his quiet, placid attitude, a lot of girls tended to lust after him. Though he never seemed to return their affections. In fact, he never seemed to care much for them.

I growled, slapping Katsu's hand away. "Can you not touch my hair?!"

"Oooo...Did you hear that?" Hummed Ryuu, grinning over at Katsu.

"Come on, Kohana, don't pretend like you don't enjoy it when I fluff your hair. You do live off of attention, after all." Katsu gave me a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest as Ryuu became antsier.

My right eye twitched, and I cocked my fist mostly out of anger, rather than to actually hit him, "You watch your mouth, man."

"OhohohoHO!" Ryuu leaned in closer to me, bending over almost completely. He began rubbing his hands together in a conniving motion, laughing quietly. "Did you hear that, Katsu? She told us to watch it. That means we just can't hold back, right? Right?"

Katsu sighed with a light smile, before waving his hand around in the air. He closed his eyes, letting out a gentle hum. "Have at her."

Ryuu jumped at me, laughing hysterically as he ruffled my hair and threw it every which way. I could literally feel the static on my head from how fast he was moving his fingers, and I could only imagine how big my hair would be by the time they were done. I'd look like a damn puffball, honestly.

"Get off me!" I elbowed Ryuu's chest, knocking him to the ground. Quickly, my hand darted out and snatched his wrist, and I pinned his arm against his lower back. Ryuu yelped, shaking his head around in an attempt to break free, but I didn't let up. I dug my knee into his lower back gritting my teeth.

"Stupid Jerk!"

Katsu sighed and shook his head. "He was just playing around, Kohana. Let up. He doesn't know better anyway."

Before I could bite back at Katsu, since it had been his fault Ryuu even was poking at me anyway, a shrill, cutesy voice interrupted me.

"Awww! Team bonding! I love it!"

Ryuu gasped, thrashing around in my grip like a fish out of water. "H-hey! Sensei, get me out of here! I'm literally 'bout to die."

Katsu raised a brow at our orange-haired teacher, who was rocking on the balls of her feet with a bright smile.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to notice how cute you are!" Momo clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes at us. I pressed even harder on Ryuu's back, pressing him into the ground. He let out a loud 'oof'.

"This... is not... cute..." He murmured.

"Baa!" She waved her hand, brushing off my pointed glare. "I'll decide what's cute. And this... now this isn't just cute... what's a better word...." she snapped her fingers together, almond eyes sparkling. "Adorable! That's it. You guys are absolutely adorable."

She waved her hands around, coming over to pry me off the struggling boy. I grunted as I was tossed to the side, the unignorable flare of my temper deep in my belly continuing to brighten as Ryuu got to his feet. He rubbed his face, sniffing dramatically.

"So mean!"

Momo slung an arm around Ryuu's shoulder, giving me a pointed look. "Now, we're going to be heading to Konohagakure soon, and I want you to be on your best behavior."

My mouth dropped open. "Me?! You want me to be on my best behavior?!" I pointed to Ryuu, who was still putting on a babyface as our sensei coddled him. "What about him?!"

"He's are perfectly fine. Friendly even. You on the other hand..."

"Are like an ice-cold drink on a snowy winter day." Said, placing his hands on my shoulders while blinking at my Sensei sentimentally.

I glared at him. "You're an idiot."

"But that's why you love us!" Ryuu jumped back into a chipper mood, flashing me a signature smile. "Now let's get going! I want to see these Konoha shinobi for myself, eh!"

"Now remember you three," Momo held her finger up as we walked through the village gates and down the mountain path. "The purpose of the chunin exams is to move up in your rank. But it's also to make friends. So remember to have fun! And not make me look like a loser of a teacher..."

I sweatdropped at her sudden mood shift. Momo was a new Jonin, only at the age of twenty-four, having been appointed Jonin at eighteen. Well—maybe she wasn't that new of a Jonin. But she was new in the sense of having a Genin team. She had never been a Sensei before, so she was decently insecure about her teachings. I wasn't exactly sure why though. She was a decent teacher, even if she drove me crazy a lot of the time.

"Gotcha! Won't let you down!" Ryuu smiled brightly at her. "Promise!"

Momo sighed wistfully, lowering her head. "Ugh... I hope so..."


	2. Chapter 2

I rubbed my temples, grumbling under my breath as Ryuu rambled on to no one in particular. I didn't even know what he was going on about at this point, having tuned him out at least five hours ago. Katsu, on the other hand, didn't pick up on my idea, somehow able to withstand his dozens of questions and ADD train of thought. 

"It's frowned upon for a Sensei to kill their own student... but I'm reaching my breaking point..." Momo placed her hands on either side of her face, almond eyes narrowed ahead on the grassy terrain of the path. Her normal bouncy personally had deflated, Ryuu sucking all the energy out of the group for himself. It was expected from him though. His energy levels were through the roof more often than not. I don't think there was ever a day where he wasn't running on level one hundred.

"Hey, hey, how much farther you guys?! I'm getting real hungry. I could go for something tasty right about now... but I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for. Maybe some stir fry? Nah. Ramen? Nahhhh I had that last night. I dunno. I've been thinking about cutting back on the unhealthy stuff though. Loadin' up more on the greens. Thinking about getting real healthy."

"I'm thinking about shutting you up," I grumbled, glaring daggers at him out of the corner of my eye. I crossed my arms over my chest, blowing at the stray hairs that fell in my face. 

The Land of Fire lived up to its name, the boiling temperature putting me into even more of a sour mood than I already was. I wasn't built for the heat, and I definitely preferred the moderate temperatures of the Land of Lightning. Even underneath a canopy of trees, I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle. I ran out of water just a half an hour back and was parched. My mouth felt like the suna desert.

But I was not, under no circumstances, going to drink out of any of my teammates' water bottles. It's disgusting and highly unsanitary. Plus, they just seemed like the type to backwash, and I wasn't going to take any chances. Call me a germaphobe... whatever. Not like I cared. 

Ryuu gasped, clenching his shirt over where his heart was supposed to be. "So harsh!"

"Completely brutal, Ko-chan." Katsu sighed deeply, casting a side glance my way. I shot him a look in return, squinting, trying to see what he was getting at. But he only gave me a small, teasing smile, along with a shake of his head. 

"Don't call me that." 

"Hm... why not?"

"Because I said so!"

"Ah! Would you look at that!" Momo grinned, pointing to a large structure that stood not too far away. She was probably glad to have something to distract us with to prevent the fight from escalating. For whatever reason, Katsu enjoyed getting beneath my skin and setting me off. He was like a match to a puddle of gasoline, that puddle of gasoline being myself. He didn't say a lot of those things on purpose. Or at least, I didn't think he did. He was always much calmer compared to Ryuu and myself. But he also had more fun than any sane person would when it came to pushing other people's buttons. 

The massive gateway leading into the village of Konohagakure stood with its doors wide open, its inviting atmosphere shooting a bolt of surprise through me. It looked extremely innocent and inviting compared to the pointy rocks looming around the bridge into Kumo. The grass was a deep green, leafy trees and bushes swaying in the wind. Even so, I still didn't like Leaf shinobi or anything having to do with them. Anyone not from Kumogakure was an idiot and I didn't want to be near them any more than I had to.

"It's... surprisingly nice." Murmured Katsu, raising a brow at the environment that we had walked into.

I hated that I partially agreed with him. We had only walked a few feet into the village and we could already hear the noises from the bustling heart of the village. Laughter. Cheery conversations. It wasn't as threatening or mundane as I pictured, nothing really by the front gate other than a shack sort of thing that resembled a receptionist desk. 

Two men sat behind it, one of them appearing to be dozing off if they weren't already asleep. The other was reading a little orange book that was apparently more interesting than doing their job. They didn't even notice we had waltzed right in, which wasn't reassuring, to say the least. Not that we were planning to attack Konohagakure or something—but if we were, we would have slipped right in under their noses. The lack of urgency made me snort a bit.

"So cool! A foreign shinobi village!" Ryuu grinned, stars in his eyes as he took in his new surroundings. He stood in awkward squat, clenched fists held in close to his chest. "Where should we even start first?! I wanna explore everything!"

Ryuu tried to take off, but before he could book it I grabbed the back of his collar. He let out a choking noise as the shirt hit his throat, restricting his airflow. I didn't feel even a splice of sympathy for the guy though. He had been talking my ear off and everyone else's ears off the entire trip. He could deal with the lack of oxygen for a little bit to make up for the amount he wasted blabbing.

"You're not going anywhere, idiot. We have to check in first. You brought your documents with you, right? Proving you're from Kumo? Otherwise, we might just have to kick you out while Katsu and I take the exams..." I laughed darkly at the thought of Ryuu pitching a tent by himself directly outside the village while I slept in a warm bed. Maybe I'd even get lucky and Katsu forgot his documents too. Man... the thought of lounging around in a hotel room by myself sounded pretty sweet. 

Ryuu's owl-like eyes widened and he began patting himself down while still struggling for air. It was the best thing I had seen all week. The expression of fear written all over his face as his skin began to turn a light blue was pure comedic gold. 

"Ah.... so you don't have them." I smiled evilly, lowering my head as he became more panicked by the second. "Hope you know how to pitch a tent by yourself. Katsu and I won't be there to help you."

"There's no need for that!" Chirped Momo, reaching for something in her back pocket. She pulled out a scroll, before waving it around in my face. "This is our permit to be in the village! There's no need for personal documents. So no need for tent pitching either, Ryuu."

The panicked expression left Ryuu's face and my sadistic, yet good mood deflated as soon as it had come. I scowled, letting go of the back of his shirt. He cried out and fell face first in the ground, not having expected me to let go so suddenly. I snickered, brushing my hands off and observing the pathetic ball of blue and silver. 

"I'll be right back, don't get into too much trouble. It'll only be a minute or two." Momo walked off toward the men with our permit her hand, probably to check us in and verify why we were in the village. The last thing we needed was to be arrested or something stupid right before the exams. I could already imagine Raikage's reddening face as he tried to grasp the concept that we had been detained. 

"You're so mean, Kohana-chan..." Ryuu pushed himself onto his elbows, bottom lip pushed out as he whimpered. Dried dirt was smudged on his face, indents of rocks pushed into his cheeks and forehead. He looked up at me with watery eyes. 

"No, she's not," Katsu grinned evilly, bending down beside him. "I am."

He grabbed the back of Ryuu's hair and forced his face into the dirt, rubbing his nose into the ground. Normally I would have thought something like that was absolutely idiotic. But the sounds of Ryuu's cries for help and the scene of him wildly waving his arms around reduced me to howling laughter. The fact Katsu was joining in on my little escapades too wasn't something you saw every day. 

This weird bonding moment, teasing Ryuu together... I kind of liked it. 

Kind of wished it happened more often. 

"Okay, I've got us all settled—HEY HEY?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Momo didn't think it was as funny as the rest of us.

"Alright! Now back onto what we should eat! I'm still wicked hungry." Ryuu rubbed at his stomach as we trailed down the street, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes were darting everywhere, soaking up the new surroundings like a sponge. I was surprised he hadn't gotten dizzy yet from how quickly he moved from one thing to the next. Swear that guy needed some sort of professional help. 

"We should really get him into a psychiatrist or something. See if he's got ADD." I murmured half to myself and halfway to Katsu who was walking beside me. Even if he was the other half of the idiot duo and practically best friends with Ryuu, there was no denying they were different people. Katsu was more bearable than his counterpart. Less annoying. He was generally more considerate too... and thoughtful. Hm... I suppose he wasn't really part of the 'idiot' duo.

"I don't know if we need a psychiatrist. I think we're already pretty sure he's got it at this point. Too many signs to not be able to tell." Katsu snorted, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his red windbreaker. He had owned that thing since we were in the academy together. I was surprised it was still fully intact and just as colorful as those few years ago when he first bought it.

"Whatcha think, you guys? I know imma be the one eatin' most of the stuff, but I'm not gonna be the only one manning the bill!" Ryuu turned to look back at us with a mischievous glint in his eye, but I wasn't having any of that. I returned his look with a scowl, and I'm pretty sure Katsu wasn't looking too happy with him either. Ryuu rubbed his hands together, tongue running over his lower lip as he salivated at the thought of food. 

Usually, our Sensei paid the bill, having the monster-sized check of a Jonin and all. But she had left to check in with the Hokage or something. Mind you, that was after scolding Katsu for smothering Ryuu into the dirt. So at the moment, we were left to our own devices. 

"Not happening," I grunted, walking ahead of Ryuu who had stopped walking. Katsu didn't wait for our grey-haired teammate either, matching my pace. He and I shared a bit of a look, both knowing it would only burn a hole in our pockets if we helped the guy. 

"Aw! C'mon! Please!" Ryuu sprinted to catch up with us, and once he did he didn't just walk beside us like a normal human being—no he decided to bounce around us like some fucking kangaroo on crack. "Pleaaaaase! I don't got any money on me!"

My eye twitched. "Are you telling me... that you traveled to a foreign village.... wITHOUT BRINGING ANY MONEY WITH YOU?!"

Ryuu grinned, nodding his head with a little too enthusiastic of a thumbs up for my already flaring temper. I cracked my knuckles, taking a step forward.

"I'm going to crush you."

"You'd kill me on an empty stomach?!"

"That's cold, Ko-chan."

"Do you want to become apart of the line-up, Katsu?"

"Nah. I'll watch."

"Katsuuuu?!" Whined Ryuu, shooting his friend a pleading look to save him from my wrath. But there was no saving him.

"You've done this already on the last three missions! Do you know how much you eat?! Do you?! My wallet has been flushed dry! I've spent two thousand ryo on you alone from just food! Two thousand ryo I still haven't been reimbursed for!"

"Um... Kohana-chan?" Ryuu scratched at the side of his head, blinking at me.

"......what?"

"What does reimba... reimbersa..."

"Reimbursed."

"Yeah. What uh—what does that mean?"

I didn't say anything. I just slapped the side of my face, feeling my IQ dropping from just carrying this one conversation with him.

"It means you haven't paid her back yet, my guy." Katsu patted Ryuu on the shoulder sympathetically, but the grey-haired boy still blinked owlishly at me.

"Oh... oh!" Ryuu placed his hands on his hips, closing his eyes. He tilted his chin up, smiling broadly. "I knew that!"

I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes at him as he continued to put on his cocky persona. Ryuu peaked at me through his left eye that was partially opened. A shiver ran up his body at the icy look I was giving him.

"No, you didn't."

"Who cares!" Ryuu threw his hands into the air, letting out an exasperated groan. He placed his hands on his stomach, patting it as he gave me puppy dog eyes. "Let's focus on feeding me! I'll get Momo Sensei to pay you later, 'kayyy?!"

"That lady wouldn't fork over any money." Snorted Katsu, crossing his arms over his chest. He gave Ryuu a deadpan look, thinking back to all the other times before she had forced herself into paying for the massive dinner bills. "She's stingy."

I rolled my eyes. "Even if she did pay me back, I don't even know where we would eat."

"There has to be something here! This is Konohagakure! One of the biggest hidden villages out of all the hidden villages!" Ryuu shook his arms around like he was going to smack into the idea of what to eat. Which he technically did—but also not really.

"Ow! What's the big idea?"

Ryuu had slapped someone across the face. And by slapped, I say that lightly. A bright red handprint stood out on their pale features, and I could only hope that they were the forgiving type. The perfect way to introduce yourself to the people of the leaf! Who needs a hello when you could give them a quick smack to the face?

"Ryuu...." I growled, pushing on the back of his neck, forcing him into an apologetic bow. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Gah! The guy was in my way—ow ow ow! I'm sorry, 'kay?!"

I removed my hand, glaring daggers at him as he stood up straight. He rubbed the back of his neck and sniffed, pushing his bottom lip out. "That hurt, Kohana-chan."

"Good."

"You should know by now to listen to your mother," Katsu waggled his finger at Ryuu with a serious expression that would have anyone fooled. But not me. I rolled my eyes with a scoff, before finally looking over at the person Ryuu had stupidly smacked.

"I'm sorry for my teammate's actions. He has a medical condition where he was born with a short amount of brain cells and continuously loses them by completing everyday tasks."

"It's okay. It was an accident anyway." The victim was a boy about our age. At least I assumed he was about our age from his height and such. He was chubbier than most and especially chubby for a ninja, the Konohagakure head protector tied around his forehead giving away his allegiance. Nothing really stood out too much to me, other than the bag of potato chips in his arms and the red swirls on both of his cheeks. He reached a hand in the bag and fished around for a second, before shoving a handful into his mouth. 

There was a deep sigh and I was only now realizing the person Ryuu had hit was actually not by themselves. They were accompanied by another guy that also looked about our age. He was also a ninja, his own Konoha head protector wrapped around his arm. He had brown, spiky hair tied up into a ponytail, hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants. His dark gaze ran over us, lading on someone for a few moments, before moving on. To anyone else, he would have looked bored out of his mind, careless even, but I could tell he was wondering why he didn't recognize us. He had this weird, squinted, yet analytical gaze in his eyes. They were small and sharp. I didn't like the way he looked at me or my teammates. 

Katsu spoke first, pointing to himself with his thumb. "Mura Katsura. We're here from Kumogakure for the Chunin exams. From your age, and Konoha's head protectors, am I safe to assume that you two are also Genin?"

The boy with potato chips nodded, giving a closed eye smile. "Hehe, yup! I'm Akimichi Choji, and this is Nara Shikamaru."

Ryuu's eyes locked onto the food in Choji's hand, his stomach letting out a coincidental growl. Drool dripped out of the corner of his mouth, fingers twitching to reach out and snatch the bag. I narrowed my eyes in on him, ready to lunge in case he decided to try something. Swear, if he got us into a problem I would hurdle him across the leaf village before he could blink. 

"Hey uh—can I have some of that? I'm starving and my two teammates are useless when it comes to finding someplace to eat."

I glared daggers at him. "One more word..."

Choji looked at Ryuu in confusion, before following his gaze down to the chips in his hands. He smiled and nodded his head, before holding the bag out to him. "Sure! Go right ahead. Just don't finish the bag. The last chip is mine."

"Sweet! Thanks!" Ryuu took a handful from the bag, stuffing his face with the crunchy food. He gave Choji a grin, before introducing himself with the mouthful of chips. "Iwasaki Ryuu! Pleased to meet ya!"

"Nice to meet you, Ryuu!"

Noticing how the two leaf ninja and my own teammates glanced at me, I realized I still hadn't introduced myself. I crossed my arms over my chest, giving a nod.

"Akaashi Kohana."

"You've been hanging around Kenji-San too much." Snorted Katsu.

I rolled my eyes. "I would think that I spend a decent amount of time with my old man to pick up on his habits. Not too sure that I can cut back on the amount of time I spend with him if I live with the guy."

Besides his untimely ability to express his overload of cynical thoughts, my dad was also terrible at introducing himself. It wasn't so much the process of saying his name that made him terrible, it was the fact that he always forgot to do it. Once he had been two hours deep in flirting with some Kunoichi from Kirigakure, but he had never even told her his name. Needless to say, when the woman told him she didn't know his name, it became hella awkward. Or at least he made it pretty awkward.

He didn't even bother asking her out on a proper date though. Two hours wasted if you ask me.

"So you guys know anywhere we can eat?" Ryuu looked at Choji and the other guy with hopeful eyes, the bag of potato chips not enough to tide over his hollow stomach.

I furrowed my brows at the boy who still hadn't said a word. Shikamaru was his name. He seemed to be deep in thought, pupils unfocused as he spaced out. I couldn't tell if this guy was brain dead, or if he just didn't give a shit about what was happening in front of him. Either way, Katsu seemed to be eyeing the guy too. If he was thinking the same thing I was, I would have to ask later.

"Yeah! I know this great barbecue place my Sensei takes my team and me to all the time. Wanna check it out?"

Shikamaru looked over at Choji with a raised brow, before glancing back at my team and I. Choji seemed to share a look with him before the spiky-haired boy shrugged. I narrowed my eyes.

I didn't like the information being passed underneath my nose.

Katsu rested his hand on my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. He could tell I was becoming suspicious, and his action acted as a bit of a warning to stay cool. While it may have seemed like I was the most collected one in my team, Katsu and I seemed to share that title. Our job was to keep Ryuu in check, but our second job was to keep one another in check. It had been that way since we were in the academy.

I was never the best buddies with Katsu. If anything I thought he was a stupid jerk who needed to pull his head out of his book. I always told him that too. Whenever he did something stupid I didn't like, I made sure he knew it. And when I was being a raging bitch, he told me without a hint of sugar. It's just what we did.

It really had all started back to the first week at the academy. I didn't have many friends. Still don't. But then I really didn't have any friends. It was just me and my Pop. I used to joking around and poking fun at my dad all day, but when I got to school I didn't realize that little kids weren't accustomed to bluntness or sarcasm. They were used to mommy and daddy putting their ugly ass picture on the fridge with endless praise.

I had never been one for drawing, but our academy teacher wanted us to use all the colors we could to draw the brightest picture of what was precious to us. It was supposed to be an exercise for why we wanted to become ninja. Why we wanted to become ninja to help protect those precious people.

But I needed the blue crayon to color my dad's hair at the time. When I was young he was having a weird early life crisis, always changing his hair color depending on his mood. Sometimes it would change more than three times a week. But at that point it was blue. And of course, the only unoccupied blue crayon was sitting on Katsura Mura's desk.

I had walked over there and asked politely for it. Probably the nicest I had ever spoken to anyone let alone an annoying boy with an ugly haircut. Even back then he already had his gravity-defying bedhead.

But Katsu, being the little shit he was, told me no and that he was using it. He told me he was using it even though it wasn't in his hand, but sitting smack on the desk. At that point, I got really annoyed and told him to fork it over. But Katsu didn't like being told what to do. Never has and never will. I did ask one more time, nicer than the first. But he decided to be a real brat about it and hold it high above my head with his monstrous arms. He was making a real joke about me too. And I didn't like being the but end of a joke.

So I did the only thing I could think of to get what I wanted.

I punched him square in the jaw. For a crayon.

He dropped it alright. I got my crayon, and I got to take my anger out on the stupid ass. I always thought it was weird how Katsu didn't cry. I had hit him pretty hard. But all he did was grin and touch the growing bruise on his jaw.

The next day I found a box full of blue crayons on my desk. He never told me that they were from him, but I knew it was. There was no one else weird enough to pull a stunt like that anyway.

"Hey, you coming or what?" Katsu raised a brow. He jabbed his thumb down the street where I could see Ryuu following Choji and Shikamaru. "Choji is going to show us someplace to eat." He flashed a smile. "I'll help you pay the bill this time."

I blinked at him for a moment, before rolling my eyes with a snort. "Sure you will. Sure you will."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you guys are from Kumogakure?"

Shikamaru glanced up to my teammates and I, Choji and himself having taken the seat opposite of us. I sat on the end of the booth beside Katsu, Ryuu sitting closest to the window that gave view to the bustling streets of Konoha. We may or may not have put him on the inside on purpose, trapping him in the booth so he wouldn't run off if anything caught his attention.

It wasn't without a good reason though. Once on an escort mission to Iwagakure, Ryuu had sprinted away from the group because he saw something shiny. Turns out he noticed some ninja's sword glimmering in the sunlight and wretched it right off their back. The guy wasn't too happy, so Katsu had to put his smooth talk into play. If it wasn't for his pretty words I'm pretty sure Ryuu would have been dead meat. But it's not like I would've complained if he met his demise there either. Ryuu was annoying and I could do without the extra noise and dead weight.

"Yup!" Ryuu stuffed a piece of barbecue into his mouth with sauce drenched chopsticks. He closed his eyes and groaned at the flavor of the food. "Mmm...this is so good..."

I rolled my eyes. "You're acting like you've never had barbecue before."

Ryuu opened his eyes and grinned, snapping his chopsticks in my face. I glared daggers at him, doing my best to not reach out and snap the silverware in two. No matter how close he was getting to poking out my eyeball, I refused to be the one making a scene. That was Ryuu's job. Not mine. Plus I didn't want to pay for two pieces of wood that probably only cost a few ryo. Knowing all greedy shop owners were the same, I didn't want to be overcharged for my short temper.

Even if he wouldn't stop and it was getting hella annoying.

"I've had barbecue before! Just not barbecue like this!" Ryuu glanced over to Choji, his irritating smile only widening. "Man, you Leaf shinobi know how to cook."

"If you think this stuff is good, you should come to one of the Akimichi restaurants." Choji took two pieces of beef in between his chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth. How did that guy fit all that food in there? "That's where the real good stuff is. Hey, maybe I can take you there! And your teammates too... if they want to come along."

Katsu flipped a piece of meat over on the barbecue, letting the flames cook the other side. He glanced up to Shikamaru and Choji with a smile that I knew all too well. He wanted to know something. "That sounds like a great idea!"

I shot him a rather nasty look. I didn't want to go anywhere. Especially not with these leaf shinobi. I still didn't know why I came along to the restaurant in the first place. But I had to play the nice guy, so I just shrugged. "That doesn't sound too bad..."

Katsu ignored the look I was giving him, smiling at Choji and Shikamaru. Even if he was irritating at es, I knew that Katsu's charisma wasn't something to downplay. He was good at getting what he wanted, finding out important information is one of his strengths. Almost anyone he came across wanted to spill their darkest secrets. He seemed trustworthy. It was a useful trick for sure. 

"So, since you two are Genin, are you going to be participating in the Chunin exams?" Katsu wiped the chopsticks off on his napkin before going in for another piece.

"Hey!" Ryuu's chopsticks darted out and snagged not only the piece Katsu had been cooking but the other six pieces on the barbecue as well. Katsu growled, grabbing the back of Ryuu's blue jacket as he frantically shoved all the pieces into his mouth. "You dipshit!"

Shikamaru didn't even seem fazed at what was happening, while Choji's mouth hung open at the sight of the empty barbecue. I rolled my eyes as Katsu began to shake around our idiotic teammate, who was struggling to choke down the stolen meat. I shot the two leaf shinobi an apologetic look.

"I am so sorry." I couldn't go anywhere with these guys! No matter what I did, someone was bound to make a scene. I was surprised we were even allowed to leave Kumo in the first place. But then again.... it wasn't as though I was really sorry. I knew we shouldn't have come in the first place, and we were only bound to embarrass ourselves. Or they were bound to embarrass me.

"Maa, it's fine." Shikamaru waved me off with his hand. He let out a yawn, leaning on his fist. "But to answer your teammate's question, we are participating in the chunin exams."

Choji hummed in agreement, placing more meat onto the barbecue. He shot Ryuu a wary look, probably wondering if the sliver haired boy was going to try to steal his food again.

Katsu had finally let go of Ryuu, allowing the boy a second to breathe. He coughed, pounding on his chest with his fist as he continued to hack on the meat. Katsu didn't spare him a look of sympathy, falling back into the seat with crossed arms. "I hope you choke and die."

"Don't wish death on him yet." I shot Katsu a grin, who just looked confused at why I didn't want to get rid of our annoying teammate. "We need three people to participate in the chunin exams. If he's dead, we're out."

Katsu nodded in understanding. "Hmmm.... you raise a good point. I still want him to suffer through."

Shikamaru prodded a piece of meat with his chopsticks, "That's not morbid at all."

"There you guys are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Asuma Sensei wants us to meet at training grounds ten for a debrief."

A girl with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail stood by our table, hands placed on the hips of her purple dress. She blinked her bright blue eyes at the two male shinobi in front of us expectantly. Shikamaru just sighed and rolled his eyes, while Choji let out a groan.

"Argh... but we haven't finished all the food yet! And you know how I feel about wasting food.."

Katsu let out a low whistle, and I didn't even need to turn my head to see the look he was giving her. It was that look gave whenever he saw something he liked. And man did he like her. Not that I could blame him. She was hot. I just wasn't really into blondes.

The girl turned her head in our direction, seeming to have just noticed us. Her eyes went wide, gaze settling in on Katsu before a pink blush rushed to her cheeks. She grinned, waggling her fingers at him. "Oh, hello there. I don't think I've seen you before."

Katsu smirked, leaning forward. "That's because you haven't. Mura Katsura. Kumogakure. It's a pleasure to meet you...."

"Yamanaka Ino." She finished.

"Well, Yamanaka Ino, I'm here for the chunin exams with my team.... am I right to assume that you will be there as well?"

Ino giggled, brushing the blonde hair out of her face. "You are."

I had to turn my head away to resist the urge to barf, the scene in front of me too much to handle. Katsu and Ino were both beautiful people, but that didn't mean I wanted a gross romance going on in front of me. It was always repulsive whenever he did this.

It was even worse when Katsu tilted his head to the side, dark hair falling into his eyes. "I'll look forward—"

"KYYYYA!" Ryuu smacked Katsu in the face, lunging over Katsu and myself to get close to Ino. He grinned up at her, hearts in his eyes. "You are absolutely beautiful! I haven't seen anyone like you in Kumogakure! They're all ugly. Like Kohana-chan over here."

I growled, clenching my fist. "I'm going to smash your face in."

"G-get off me!" Katsu pried Ryuu's hand off of his face, throwing the silver-haired boy off balance. He rolled off of our laps and onto the ground, head hitting the table and rattling the dishes.

"This is so humiliating..." I placed my hands over my face, hoping that if he tried hard enough maybe I could just disappear.

"As I was saying before." Katsu placed his chin in his hand, shooting Ino a dazzling smile like he hadn't just thrown his teammate onto the ground. "I'll look forward to seeing you there."

Ryuu groaned from underneath the table, but all it took was a sharp kick to the stomach from Katsu to shut him up. I sighed, rubbing the side of my face. I may have been only thirteen, but I was bound to have grey hairs before this whole thing was over.

Ino didn't pay any mind to the silver-haired boy beneath the table and merely shot Katsu another flirtatious grin. "I'll look forward to seeing you there too."

"This is so troublesome...." Shikamaru glanced to Ino, who was still shooting Katsu's heart eyes. "Can't you flirt on your own time? Not everyone wants to see that.... get enough of it whenever you're around Sasuke...."

Ino rolled eyes, the sweet, flirtatious girl disappearing. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get a move on. Since when are you ever in a hurry, Shikamaru?"

"Whenever I want to get away from something that's making me nauseous."

Choji and Shikamaru slid out of the booth, Choji reaching into his pocket to pull out money for the meal. Katsu waved the Akimichi off, smiling still. "Maa—I've got the check. Don't worry about it!"

"What a gentleman!" Ino blushed again and Shikamaru sighed loudly.

"Well, okay!" Choji grinned. If there was one thing I had picked up on food was free food for this guy.

After the trio of leaf ninja left, Katsu turned to me with a grin. "Now, wasn't that nice? We became acquainted with some foreign shinobi, and we may have gotten ourselves an ally if needed during the exams."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not sure we'd need an ally. We're stronger than probably all the Genin teams; especially those from the leaf." I cast a glance outside the window, a mother leading her daughter down the street. I watched for a moment, before turning my head away with a scoff. "These leaf shinobi are coddled. It's too soft here."

"Just because we have had harder lives than most, doesn't mean that we should assume others haven't experienced pain." Katsu turned his head to the side, peering at me.

I shrugged. "I suppose so."

Ryuu pulled himself out from under the table and sat on the opposite side of the booth. He rubbed the side of his face that was scuffed up, a grin on his features. "But anyway, those guys seemed pretty cool!"

"Don't let your guard down too soon," I crossed my arms, giving him a wary look. "They may have seemed friendly, but we don't want to take any chances. They likely had no ulterior motive, but we never know. Remember what the Raikage said. Shinobi not from Kumogakure shouldn't be trusted easily."

"The Raikage is just a paranoid man." Katsu rolled his eyes. "He likes to make a fuss about things that don't need to be fussed about."

I gave him a smirk. "Hm... sound like someone you know?"

"Yes, in fact, it does." Katsu returned my smirk and tilted his head to the side. "It reminds me of you."

I rolled my eyes, "haha, very funny."

"Hey, who's gonna pay for the meal?" Ryuu pulled his pockets inside out, displaying the emptiness. "I've got nothing on me."

I looked to Katsu. "You said you would help pay."

"I said I would help." He reached into his pocket and set one ryo on the table. "And there's my help."

My hand shot out to grab the bill, looking at the price right away. My right eye twitched. "The meal is seven hundred ryo.... seven.... hundred. And the most you could fork up was one ryo?!"

"You know me, I've been short on money as of recent." Katsu placed his hand over his heart, sighing wistfully. "Donating to the poor."

"....the poverty rate in Kumogakure is almost nonexistent."

"Ah," He waved me off. "As in the poor, I mean myself."

"You're not poor!"

"620.... 680.... and 700...." I sighed, it physically paining me to fork over the money to the front counter. Paying for three people was enough, but adding on those two extra servings was a lot. I didn't like spending money. Especially on things like food. Some may call me stingy, but money is money. It does wonders in times of need.

"Maa... what was that in that Momo Sensei said we needed to meet her at?" Katsu rubbed his chin, pursing his lips in thought.

Ryuu copied Katsu's body language, humming rather loudly. "Hmmmmmmmmm...... oh oh, I know!"

Katsu looked over at him in surprise. "You do?"

He nodded his head. "Mhm! Oh, wait... no... I lost it..."

"Idiots." I hissed, unfolding the map from my back pocket. Ryuu and Katsu scooted closer to peer down at the map I was holding, a little building circled in red marker and labeled 'inn'. I pointed to it. "We're supposed to go here."

"Ahhhh! You're so smart, Kohana-chan!" Ryuu grinned, nodding eagerly to my simple statement. 

I growled, clenching my fist around the map. It crinkled the noises something that would make any ordinary person cringe. "Momo Sensei literally gave me this map.... idiot...."

"He's just giving you a well-earned compliment, Ko-chan!" Katsu grinned, patting me on the head.

"I am not a dog!"

The map was snatched out of my hand, Ryuu holding it up to the sun as if it would help him understand how to read it. Which it wouldn't. Especially since he held it upside down.

If it wasn't for his skills as a ninja, there was no doubt in my mind that he would have never passed the graduating exams. He just... wasn't smart. That's really all there was to it. Not that I was trying to be rude or anything—okay yeah I was being rude. But what about it? Just telling the truth. He's an idiot.

"Give me that!" I tried to pull the map from Ryuu, but he kept his stupid fingers clasped on the paper like it was his lifeline. Which it technically was, because if he didn't hand it over in .5 seconds I was going to beat the shit out of him.

"Nuh! You got to hold the map the entire time! It's my turn!"

"What the f—are you six? If you don't let go I'm going to kick your ass back to the land of lighting!"

Katsu smirked and shook his head, taking a step toward us. "Okay, time to calm down you guys. As per usual, I'm the one coming to your rescue."

He tried to take the map from us too. For whatever reason, he actually thought I would let him have it. With his sense of direction? There was no way we would get there before the sunset. No—scratch that. There's no way we would get there before the chunin exams began. Once while on an escort mission, (problems always seemed to happen on escort missions) he had to lead us down the wrong path into a camp of missing-nin. A large portion of them was from Kirigakure too. Those guys were extra ruthless, honing the trademark shark teeth and all.

I growled, pulling at my corner of the map. "Would you just let go! I'm the leader anyway!"

Katsu's mouth fell open, his dark eyes meeting my violet that was practically aflame. "Who said you were the leader?! Why would we ever put a hothead numbskull in charge?!"

"What, like we would put someone who ogles themself in front of the mirror as a hobby in charge?!" I growled again, giving the map another tug. "Fat chance!"

"Hey guys, I just want to hold the map!" Ryuu threw his head back into a loud whine, leaning on his heels with the corner of the paper still in hand.

With one last tug from each of us, a loud tear, and three cries of shock and pain, we all laid on the ground, groaning.

I held my corner of the map in my hand, finger pads red from how hard I had been pulling. I sat up and rubbed the back of my head with a groan, looking to my other teammates. It wasn't as though I cared about what happened to them. I was just curious. I could care less where they ended up.

Not that it mattered if I cared or not, as Katsu and Ryuu laid on their backs, groaning obnoxiously. Their respective pieces of paper were clutched in their hands, the two idiots seeming to have landed themselves in the same position I had.

I got up and started down at the map, only one piece of it sitting on the ground untouched. I placed my hands on my knees, squinting down at it as if it had the key to the universe. Which technically... it did.

Ryuu jumped up and skipped over to me. He clasped his hands in front of his face, eyes beginning to water. "What's the status on the map, oh wise leader?"

"She's not the leader!" Barked Katsu, smacking the silver-haired boy on the back of the head.

"Welp," I said, popping the 'p'. "I can thoroughly say we fucked up."

Katsu's face fell. "Well shit."

I reached down and picked up the fourth piece, connecting it to my own page. The fibers matched up, looking as though it was still completely intact.

Ryuu peered over my shoulder. "Are you onto something, Kohana-chan?"

"Stop talking."

"Oooh.... sorry."

I looked up to Katsu. "Give me yours."

He blanched, wrenching the paper away from me. "No way!"

My right eye twitched. "I'm not playing these games! Give me the damn paper!"

Katsu stared at me, looking as though he was having an internal debate with himself on whether or not he should submit to me. Which the answer was an obvious yes, but his pea-sized brain had some trouble keeping with the paces.

I smirked and extended my hand, making a 'give it here' motion. "C'mon. I know you want to."

He stared at me for a moment, before grumbling under his breath and forking it over.

I grinned, taking it from him. "Good job."

"Oh, here you go, Kohana-chan!" Ryuu grinned and held it up to the other two pieces of the map, it aligning into three-fourths of the complete sheet. Ryuu took the fourth piece and connected it, it making the completed map again.

My grin widened. "Bingo!"

Katsu yawned, waving his hand in front of his mouth. "Okay, we've got the stupid little map. Now let's actually use it and get to the inn. I'm tired, and tomorrow we have one day to just do whatever we want before the chunin exams. Getting here early does have its perks after all. Even if I had to leave my Jiichan and his perfectly exquisite food."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm surprised your Ojiisan hasn't thrown you out on the street yet with that attitude of yours. Especially with that stench, you carry around with you."

Katsu's mouth fell open. "I don't stink!"

"That's what you think."

"Oh wait, I know where we're going now!" Ryuu jumped up, distracting Katsu and I from our argument.

I looked at him incredulously. "Wha-?"

Ryuu turned and took off down the street with his piece of the map as fast as his legs could take him, blue windbreaker flowing rapidly in the wind. I stared after him with my mouth open. What the hell had just happened?! My arm was tugged on harshly, Katsu pulling me forward.

"What are you just standing there for, leader? You're not doing any good catching flies. We need to get that idiot before he causes any trouble."

My mouth snapped shut, my face settling into a scowl. I wrenched my arm from his grip. "Well don't just stand there and stare at me! Get a move on!"

Katsu and I took off down the street, the taller boy just a bit ahead of me. I chewed on my bottom lip, staring at the back of his red windbreaker.

With the way things were going so far in Konohagakure, I couldn't wait to leave and resume my peaceful life again. Although, I wasn't sure if I would be granted the old life I had again. I had the sneaking suspicion something was coming, and it wasn't going to be anything I liked.


End file.
